A very wise and gentle lady told me today the following, “Write… yes. I’ve started to feel with an urgency that we need to write down our feelings/thoughts or they’ll just slip away into nothingness. Same for dreams. It has to all amount to something more than just this moment – our struggles that is.”

This blog, Poetry in Black and White, is where I do just that – I write down my feelings and thoughts before they truly slip away into nothingness. This morning I awoke to one of those dreams you feel for a while after you awake. This one I wanted to cling to indefinitely, but alas, dreams never seem to allow that, do they?

When the dream won’t stick around, poetry is the next best thing to being there – at least in my opinion. A writer can capture a moment in time when everything in life felt perfect…

Wintertime Dream

Love slipped into a winter dream,
We danced and laughed and kissed it seemed
As though reality blurred a moment in time
Allowing touch, peace, song and rhyme.

Love slipped into my deepest sleep,
Ever warm and gentle and soft and sweet
As though a bridge to mend my heart
Connecting my soul so tears depart.

Love slipped into my waking moments,
Enchanted. Surreal. Devoid of torments
As though all of life lead to this dream
Engaging happy, joyful, serene.

Love slipped away as moments elapsed,
Coalesced and decayed in minutes collapsed
As though memories were all we ever attain
Promising but dreams and whimsies again.

Love slips often into my heart,
Silken and flowered – never tart
As though whispering its forever return
Quelling fears of loneliness and concern.

Love slipped into a winter dream,
We danced and laughed and kissed it seemed…

****

As is usually the case on this blog, the poem is unedited and a bit “raw”. Feel free to point out any typos or edit suggestions. I only write rhyming poetry about 25% of the time (if that much), but this one just “felt” like it should have some meter and rhyme…

The actual dream here was me dancing with Karen Carpenter. Funny how dreams work. I left my music on overnight and a Carpenters’ tune greeted me in the early hours of morning. I’ve always been drawn to her incredible voice as well as the tremendous songs she sang. This was a “waking” dream, right on that cusp of consciousness and sleep.

The entire experience felt warm, and loving and real. In the dream I spoke to Karen a number of times, but when I told her who first introduced me to her (my oldest sister), the spell was broken and sadness washed over me because I realized reality was on its way.

Of course I clung to the fading dream as long as possible, but awareness of my surroundings flooded in way too soon. Within an hour, I searched out Bridge Over Trouble Water by Simon and Garfunkel. I needed that song, because what I experienced those few moments of the dream (who knows how long they actually last in “real” time?) has been denied me in this life.

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2 thoughts on “Wintertime Dream…”

Hi Mike,
I’m so glad you were inspired to write again … and such a beautiful poem full of tenderness and aching. It brought back some sweet and painful memories. “As though memories were all we ever attain” – I’m hoping that isn’t true. I haven’t given up yet.
Lynda

I’ve been dying to write for weeks. I hate when I allow life to overrun my writing. I need to write, and the need is virtually daily. Thank you for the kind comments on the poem. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t care for much of what I write. The truth is actually more that I typically cannot capture the full essence of what I want to convey. I know my writing is generally sound and even good, but I rarely capture the depth I desire with the words – if that makes sense. Therefore I state I don’t like most of what I write. My “dislike” springs from this inability to capture all I desire within the context of words.

When you acknowledged I was “inspired to write again…” I realized how much I’d let myself drift away from where I want to be. I smiled when I read that. I appreciate it tremendously. I haven’t given up yet either. My hope is my last breath will still seek love and peace. As our last conversation covered, I am working on learning how to like, love, and respect myself. Wow! That’s a tough row to hoe! lol! Never too late, right?